SBI Securities and IBM test blockchain for bond trading system

Japan's SBI Securities is working with IBM to test the use of blockchain technology for a new type of bond trading platform.

Using the Hyperledger Fabric, SBI says it will test the use of blockchain tech for the entire product lifecycle of a bond until reimbursement.

The firm also wants to see how sharing databases can improve the efficiency and automation of operations, how infrastructure costs can be cut and how blockchain can be used for securities operations and systems.

IBM will give SBI Securities access to its Tokyo Bluemix Garage for blockchain as well as research and consulting expertise. Once the testing is over, the plan is to then make the technology for securities operations commercially available.

Hiroyuki Ogawa, executive officer, SBI Securities, says: "Adopting the Hyperledger Fabric, an open technology platform, and working together with IBM Japan, the leader in this area, we expect that this verification test will speed the rate of adoption of blockchain technology in the financial trading area."

SBI Holdings is also collaborating with Ripple and a consortium of 15 Japanese banks to build a new payments platform promising round-the-clock real-time settlement for cross-border and domestic funds transfers.